Disclaimer: I own
neither series, and have no plans to make any money off of this work
of fiction. Please, if you're going by looking for people to sue,
how much money do you think you're going to make? This is a free
site, after all…..

Warnings: First, tiny
bit of language, violence.

Also, I'm going to
use a bit of canon interaction for the wedding, but just for a bit,
and it's NOT the same.

Note: Takes place
during the wedding Ranma-wise, and after Galaxia SM-wise

Thanks to everyone over
at the Fukufics forum for the inspiration and the information.

"Spoken Words"

Thoughts

Prologue

Ranma Saotome, foremost
practitioner of the famed school of the Saotome school of Anything
Goes Martial Arts, was not having a good day. He had just returned
from saving Akane from the Phoenix of Jusendo, Saffron, only to be
denied of the cure to his curse, even if he had finally chosen to be
able to live with it.

However, when he
returned home, he was knocked out, dressed in a tuxedo, and had been
told he had been getting a wedding that very day. And his patience
was waxing thin.

He ran towards Akane's
room, wondering in his head why Akane would finally agree to marry
him.

Tomboy's never
even given a second thought to it before, he mused to himself.
Wonder what made her agree now.

He burst into Akane's
room, intent on finding why the girl he…….was fond of… was
suddenly having a total reverse in position.

He opened Akane's
door quickly, mindless of the fact that 99. of the time, this would
have resulted in a "Ranma, you pervert!" and a quick retaliatory
strike.

Lucky for him, this was
part of that elusive 1.

"Hey Akane!" he
shouted as he entered the room. "What's this nonsense about you
agreeing to the wed….."

He broke off, stunned
at the beauty of the girl who normally was the most plain of the
fiancé brigade. He heard Akane's greeting in the back of his
mind, but his brain was in a temporary reboot, as referenced in the
easy to use Ranma's Head For Dummies: A Reference Guide for The
Rest Of us chapter 1; when Ranma sees a beautiful female, depending
on the severity of the situation, immediate shutdown of the core may
occur, if this occurs, attempt a manual reboot.

He could only stutter
incoherently as Akane turned to face him.

"Do you like the
dress, Ranma?" Akane asked him. Ignoring his words, if they could
be called as such, she continued. "I guess the Japanese style would
have been better."

"Ah, no" Ranma was
finally able to speak normally. "They are both c…cute. Wow", he
continued. "You do look…pretty."

"That's it?"
Akane's voice was absolute zero. Inside, however, the magma was
boiling. She had just gotten dressed for her own wedding, and all
the insensitive jerk could say was that she looked PRETTY?

Ranma, sensing the soon
to be eruption, quickly attempted to placate her.

Akane was not amused.
Her fiancé had just insulted her looks, AGAIN!She knew though,
that if she punched him too far, the wedding wouldn't take place,
and she couldn't claim Ranma as her own. So, instead, she merely
slapped him.

Hard.

The blood was already
rising to form the imprint left on Ranma's cheek, but he said
nothing, he merely looked down, and waited for the inevitable.

Akane turned away,
ashamed at both Ranma and herself. She whispered.

"And to think, I was
going to tell you about the Nannichuan…"

Ranma's face shot up
instantaneously.

"We've got
Nannichuan and you didn't tell me!" He was furious, but he knew
that he had to recover the cursed water fast, before the panda or
anyone else involved in the chaos of his life attempted to ruin his
main chance at a cure. He would sort out his feelings, including the
slap, later.

As he ran towards the
dojo, he suddenly caught a whiff of an okonomiyaki, mixed with
something he hadn't smelled before. As he attempted to catch the
erstwhile projectile, his danger senses flared dangerously. The
okonomiyaki exploded in his hands, and if not for the ki he had
poured into his hands, would have likely caused some pretty hefty
damage to his limbs. He heard Shampoo and Ukyo declare their
intentions, as well as Konatsu's platitudes. But, as he was getting
up, a familiar numbness spread over his body.

He was only partially
correct. Suddenly, his senses screamed of an attack from behind, and
he threw himself forward.

Nope, now he's
Katana boy Ranma griped as he dodged the furious swipe, ready for
another attack. However, the deluded kendoist merely stopped, and
spoke.

"How dare you attempt
to marry the fair Akane Tendo without my permission!" His fan
flicked out, and the word denied was clearly written. "I will not
allow it!."

Ranma dodged the second
and third slashes, trying to figure a way to disarm the lunatic
without letting anyone else get hurt.

Since when did we need
your permission?" He shot back. Suddenly, a fire pail, which of
course, was full of water, appeared out of nowhere. Ranma cursed
internally.

Damnit! My girl form
is faster, but she's not going to be strong enough when this gets
worse!

He steeled himself
anyways for the change in his tactics, but instead of the familiar
momentary discomfort he experienced during a change as his body
shifted, there was a sudden lurch that he had never felt before.

Ranma Saotome,
considered by many to be the best martial artist of his generation,
if not soon to be of all time, was swept away by the sudden onslaught
in his head, and all faded to black.

It's so quiet……was
his last conscious thought.

----------

Akane Tendo, last
practitioner of the Tendo School of Anything Goes, stared on in equal
parts horror and anger, the former towards her home, the latter
towards her aqua-transsexual fiancé.

That jerk! She
thought to herself as she watched Ranma let himself get glomped by
the Black Rose. He can have his floozies for all I care.

She watched as Ranma
pulled away, and a glimmer of hope appeared. Hmph, as if I ever
wanted to get married to that pervert she continue her
ponderings as Ranma dodged Kuno's seemingly pathetic attempts.

Suddenly, she saw Ranma
slip, and the pail of water headed straight for her. She wasn't
concerned though. Jerk or not, Ranma was strong enough finish off
Kuno and hopefully help her stop her fellow fiancés. She
turned to see the thrashing of Kuno, but Kuno had stopped his
attacks, and appeared to be…..staring?

She stopped her mental
wanderings, and looked at what should have been Ranma's girl
form.

It wasn't.

Whoever this….being
was, it definitely wasn't Ranma.

Instead of the petite
redhead that she had expected, this….woman…was about as tall as
Mr. Tendo, and there was no mistaking her as the young girl
Ranma-Chan had always appeared as.

She held herself with a
quiet dignity that Ranma, even when she had been temporarily
amnesiac, had never shown even the slightest bit of.

Her eyes, rather than
the energetic blue shine of Ranma's, were now violet, darkened by
things only she knew, and squinted slightly in preparation for
violence.

Her hair was no longer
short, and the Dragon's whisker was nowhere to be seen. Instead of
the short pigtail that (usually) distinguished both of Ranma's
forms, her now dark violet hair was much thicker, and reached past
her new height's waist, and down to past her legs, and now paved
the floor around her figure, partially covering her appearance.

Ranma's white Tuxedo
had also vanished. In its place was a dark blue sleeveless blouse,
with a generously low cut in the chest. It was accompanied by a pair
of dark green pants that seemed to flow down to the floor. This
person's bust was about the same as Ranma's girl form, but on
this taller body, it seemed more natural, rather than the oddities
that had seemed out of place on the smaller Ranma-Chan.

But these went almost
unnoticed by Akane, as well as the rest of the regulars of Nerima.
They, along with Akane, were staring at the new symbol located on
this woman's forehead. Squarely placed on the woman's forehead
was a black 5-pointed star, and it, more-so than anything else on the
new woman's form, was disturbing to Akane.

It was apparently the
same for the rest of the people gathered in the dojo, for Ryoga,
Mousse, and Genma stopped fighting over the cask, and Shampoo, Ukyo,
Konatsu, and both the Kuno siblings were staring apprehensively at
the new player in the game of Ranma's life.

In the appearance of
the new figure, no one noticed Happosai sneaking towards the casket,
his normal appetite for females diminished by the ki, or lack there
of, he was sensing from this new beauty.

Even though Akane was
intimidated by the new figure, she needed Ranma for the wedding.
Managing to control her voice, she brazenly demanded,

"Where's Ranma, you
hussy? You better not be a new fiancé! This is MY wedding."

The figure merely
stared on into space, ignoring her. Akane's blood boiled. No one
ignored her, not Ranma, not the other fiancés, NOBODY!

"I'M TALKING TO
YOU, YOU STUPID SLUT!" Even she was shocked at her choice of words,
but they had been spoken hastily, and were unable to be taken back,
even if she'd wanted to.

But the mysterious
woman merely stared off. Slowly, her head rotated around, seemingly
analyzing the various martial artists standing before her. Her gaze
came to a stop when she spotted Happosai silently sipping from the
cask, his back to her. Her violet eyes narrowed in anger, and without
warning, strands of her hair were flying through the air. They moved
silently, flying towards the perverted grandmaster, and Akane could
tell that their intent was not friendly. She attempted to shout out
a warning, but something was wrong.

Even though she knew
that she was speaking, she couldn't hear her voice. It was like
when there was so much background noise, you couldn't hear your own
voice, except for one key thing, she noticed abruptly. The dojo had
gone completely silent, save for the disruption of the strands of
hair moving through the air. She could only watch, too far away to
act, as the hairs shot towards the old master.

However, Happosai was
clearly still on guard. He suddenly threw the cask between himself
and the hair, and even as the strands wrapped themselves around the
barrel, and in a frightening display, crushed the barrel utterly and
completely, he was airborne away from the woman. He made several
complex looking warding gestures, and suddenly, Akane could hear
again.

But the effort had
apparently taken much of Happi's power, as he breathing heavily,
and did not appear to be well.

"Happosai!" Akane
cried out. "Are you okay?" Even though there was no love lost in
her for the perverted old man, he was probably their only chance of
finding what was happening, as Cologne was apparently nowhere to be
found.

"Stay back," came
the gasped reply. "None of you have a chance. Run to the Neko
Hanten. You'll be safe there."

Nevertheless, several
members of the informally-dubbed Nerima Wrecking Crew ignored him.

"What have you done
with my Ranma-Sama, you depraved little harridan?" Kodachi
screeched as she shot several paralysis darts that she had pulled out
of her black wedding dress.

The insane Rose
expected the whore to dodge the traps, in which case, she would step
right into her waiting ribbon, which she had shot through the floor.

She should have kept
dreaming.

Even as the strands of
hair broke away from the now destroyed casket of Nannichuan, and
intercepted the erstwhile missiles and destroyed them, the woman
leaped over the ribbon that had shot out of the floor, and landed
easily to the side. Her eyes were glowing an eerie purple, and she
spoke for the first time.

"So that's the way
it's going to be…" Her glowing eyes brightened, and suddenly,
she was in front of the insane gymnast. Before Kodachi could defend
herself, the woman's hand was around her throat, choking her. She
spoke in a loud whisper.

"So, little girl, you
think you can take ME on?" Without warning, she leapt away, the
would-be bride still in her hands. Kuno's blade passed harmlessly
through where she had just been. Kuno stopped, and turned to face
her.

"So, I see that this
is the foul sorcerer's familiar." Even as the others gaped at his
stupidity, he continued on. "Even though my sister doth be an
ungainly wench, I cannot allow thee to harm her, as she is descended
of my father. Defend thyself!"

He leapt, suddenly came
down faster than Akane had ever seen him move, his sword poised to
sever the hand still choking the Black Rose. The figure did nothing,
and Akane averted her eyes in order to avoid the blood soon to be
shed.

She half expected to
hear something, the sound of flesh severing under steel, the clang of
a sword hitting the floor, anything.

However, when no sound
was heard, she turned around hesitantly. What she saw shocked her.

More of the newcomer's
hair had moved around to cover her arm, and she could see Kuno's
strain as he attempted to finish the cut and free his sister.
However, the hair appeared to be far stronger than any of Ryoga's
ki-infused bandanas, and held with no sign of breaking.

The woman moved her
violent gaze towards the Blue Thunder.

"So," she spoke
conversationally. "You want to get involved?"

Not waiting for a
reply, more of her hair knocked the sword from Kuno's hand, even
she knocked Kuno away with an open palm strike to the chest.

Kuno hit the dojo wall.

His outline could be
seen on the other side of the wall.

After a few moments, he
slid to the floor, his imprint against the wall left for all to see.

Needless to say, he
didn't get up.

The figure toyed with
the sword, apparently testing its worth. Then, she tossed it into the
air. Hair surrounded the sword, and without a flicker of effort, the
blade was broken.

Kodachi gasped, her
face turning blue. Even though she had learned many methods of breath
control in order to further her poisons, even she had limits that
were vast approaching. She appeared to wilt, and the woman tossed her
next to her brother.

"Weak." She
muttered condescendingly as she strode towards the gymnast. "Not
worth my time at all."

There was a flicker of
movement, and her head swerved to avoid the ribbon that milliseconds
before had been on a crash course towards her face. She grinned
viciously.

"Ah, maybe I was
wrong."

The Black Rose stood
there gaping. Not even her Ranma-Sama was that fast. She knew she
should have hit the other woman, but her brain could not process the
information, still starved for oxygen. Tendrils suddenly made
themselves known, and the last thing she saw was her own paralyzing
potions moving towards her face.

"Hmm, guess you are
weak after all." The figure said to herself as the Black Rose
dropped to the floor.

"Prepare to Die!"

Ryoga had seen enough.
Hitting a defenseless girl, besides the fact that Kodachi had been
doing her best to maim this woman, was enough. He leapt towards the
woman, only to be thrown back by a spin kick to his face. Thankful
for his endurance training, Ryoga landed back on his feet.

"Fine, then take
this! Shi Shi Houkou Dan" The green blast of depression shot
towards the woman. The blast was one of the largest Ryoga had
produced, as even though he was with Akari, he had still been invited
by the bastard Ranma to his one time love's wedding. It was not on
the scale of a perfect, but it was fairly close. Ryoga was sure it
would be enough to get rid of the unwanted guest.

The figure merely held
up its hand, as if to block the attack. Ryoga grimaced, and increased
the blast, as he tried to make himself more depressed by imagining
Ranma and Akane, together…..The sphere increased even further in
size, but the woman merely stood there.

Her hand widened, and
as the green sphere approached her, the ball of ki merely seemed to
disappear into her outstretched hand.

Ryoga stared in shock.
That was one of his best Shi Shi Houkou Dans ever. He gritted his
fangs in determination.

"All right, I have no
choice. PERFECT SHI SHI HOUKOU DAN!"

The sphere was of ki
was immense, larger than anything Ryoga had ever produced. Shards of
the dojo's roof shattered and fell as it ascended to the sky.

Ryoga gaped. That was
far too big for even Ranma! While the lost boy was admittedly many
things, he didn't want to be a killer!

He needn't have
worried.

Even as the enormous
ball descended back towards the Earth, the figure merely raised an
eyebrow.

She placed her still
open hand over her head, and as the ball reached the scattered
remains of the Tendo Dojo, before anyone else could move, she
appeared to concentrate, and the ball winked out as if it had never
been.

Ryoga was beaten, and
he knew it. He could barely stand up, let alone put up a decent
fight. That last perfect Shi Shi Houkou Dan had taken near all of his
reserves.

The woman turned to
stare at him.

"Such a waste of
lifeforce," she muttered to herself, and with a flash, she had
cold-cocked Ryoga with her elbow.

She looked around.
"Anyone else?" She asked in a shadow of Ranma's cocky tone.

"Happou Dai Karin!"

The bombs were
launched, and the woman had no chance to dodge. She crossed her arms
in a blocking position as the fuses burned out. The resulting
explosion rocked the dojo, as Happosai had gone for an overkill.

When the smoke cleared,
however, the woman was merely charred. Her clothes were dusty, and
her hair was mussed, but she was unhurt.

"I don't care."
Akane had always hated being contradicted, and this was no different.
"Look at what she's wearing! She's a pervert!"

The woman who had
claimed to be Ranma looked down at herself.

"Hmm, I happen to
like these clothes. Are you saying I'm indecent?"

"Yes!" yelled
Akane, flustered. Where was the normal, sputtering Ranma who tried so
hard to deny being a pervert?

"Hm, I don't think
so." The woman claimed. "But it does appear I've worn out my
welcome. I think it's time for me to leave."

"Demon!" Happosai's
voice was more serious than it had ever been. "I will find you, and
destroy you!"

"I think not, old
geezer. Besides, I have places to see and people to meet."

She turned to leave.

"Oh, and Akane?"

Akane looked up,
wondering what the woman could want.

"I honestly wasn't
sure what love was. At least, until the slap." Akane's face went
white. "Thanks for showing me what love isn't."

She turned again, but
Nodoka's voice stopped her.

"Stop." The voice
was strong, with no other trace of emotion. "If you are truly my
son, you will change back, and marry Akane. It is the honorable thing
to do."

The woman smiled sadly,
and for a second, Akane caught a glimpse of Ranma in those violet
eyes.

"Mother, I'm sorry,
but I cannot. I have a debt that must be fulfilled. It precedes all
of the current engagements."

"Foolish boy!"
Genma spoke for the first time. "You will marry Akane NOW!"

The sad smile
disappeared, and the eyes lost their emotion. Ignoring the outburst,
the woman continued to stare at Nodoka.

"Mother, I'm sorry
I never really got to know you. Maybe someday…."

The figure broke off as
Happosai leapt over her to block the exit.

"You won't get
away, Demon. All of us combined would fight to our last breath to
save Ranma." Everyone nodded in confirmation. No matter what their
reasons, they would rather have Ranma back, rather than this unknown
woman.

The woman laughed
despondently. It was a harsh sound, full of pain, regret, and
despair. A single tear fell from her immaculate face, down to the
floor.

"All of you could
maybe have taken me before, but now…" she broke off, as Genma,
Soun, Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo, fists, bonbori, and combat spatula
outstretched respectively, raced towards her, while Happosai started
chucking more Happou Dai Karins, and Mousse started throwing
everything he had managed to hide beneath his tuxedo.

Her eyes flashed once,
and her hair was suddenly intercepting everything thrown and
returning it with a vengeance while she effortlessly dodged and
weaved through the melee.

Seeing that the brawl
wouldn't end any time soon, her eyes dimmed, and she caught Ukyo's
spatula with her fingers, used it to parry Shampoo's bonbori, and
threw the weapons, owners still attached, towards the fathers and
Akane, who collided in an ungainly heap. She looked over her shoulder
at Mousse and Happosai, and noted with satisfaction at the scene
before her. She had used Mousse's chains against him, redirecting
them with precision, and had trapped both duck boy and the geezer to
the wall. She knew it wouldn't last long, but Mousse must have
coated the chains in some new magic something-or-other, as even
Happosai's aura could not break them. She knew it was only a matter
of time, though, before the fray was resumed.

She turned towards her
mother, whose face seemed to be carved in stone, and bowed deeply.

"Goodbye, Mother."
She whispered, and the pain in her voice as she spoke those words was
plain for anyone to hear.

She straightened
slowly, and would not meet Nodoka's eyes. She snapped her fingers,
and a circular patch of darkness appeared on the floor of the dojo.
Ignoring the shouted cries, she walked on top of it, then, without
looking back, she disappeared into the darkness.

A/N

Well, Prologue's
over, folks.

And before anyone asks,
no, Ranma is NOT locked.

PLEASE NOTE: I know
that technically, Mistress 9 died in both the manga and the anime.

I have my own version
of events that will be revealed in chapter 2.

Also note, this will
not be an UBER RANMA WITH ALL NEW MOVES AND DECIMATES ALL OF NERIMA.

The hair's not
all-powerful, by any means. None of the Ranma crew has seen anything
similar, so they were unprepared for it.

Please hit that little
button down to the left, select the submit a review option, and click
it.

Let me know what you
think. If you hate it, all I ask is that you give a halfway decent
reason. If you like it, though, hey, any praise is acceptable.
(smirks)

Later,

MV

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.